Mike Adenuga
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The Presidency on Tuesday responded to
criticisms of the list of 2012 national honours awards, saying none
of the 149 honourees had been found wanting in any aspect of their
lives.
The list which has Globacom Chairman,
Chief Mike Adenuga, as recipient of the highest honour, Grand
Commander of the Order of the Niger, was released on Sunday.
But the Nigeria Labour Congress, the
Trade Union Congress, opposition parties and lawyers on Monday said
some of the recipients lacked credibility.
The Senior Special Assistant to the
President on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, however, called on those
querying the list to mention any of the awardees not fit to be
honoured.
Okupe specifically defended the conferment of GCON on Adenuga.
He said, “We must be able to celebrate
the likes of Adenuga, who has brought succour to Nigerians with the
establishment of Globacom.
“Nigerians are proud of the company, which though is competing with foreign companies, is doing very well.
“His many businesses are employers of labour. He has not done badly and he deserves the award, like the other 148 Nigerians.”
Just as Okupe spoke, Afenifere leader,
Chief Reuben Fasoranti; renowned constitutional lawyer, Itse Sagay; and a
Lagos-based lawyer, Jiti Ogunye, described the honours list as
“laughable.”
They argued that many of those who names are on the list were “undeserving” of the award.
Fasoranti, in an interview with our
correspondent in Akure, Ondo State, said “the national awards are
supposed to be given to those with high level of integrity.”
He added, “I am surprised that some individuals with questionable business deals made the list.
“To avoid this type of national
embarrassment in future, the Presidency should constitute a committee of
credible personalities to look into such list. If this had been done,
the panel would have advised the President(Dr. Goodluck Jonathan) to
drop some of the people who made the list.
“The moment our leaders drop the usual Nigerian factor, the better our society will be.”
Sagay said but for a former Supreme
Court judge, Justice Kayode Eso, and few others whose names are on the
list, the inclusion of the other recipients showed that the national
honours were now being conferred on “undisciplined political class” in
the country.
He said, “The national award system
lost its credibility long ago. People don’t have confidence in it
anymore. The award is given to undisciplined political class. They
give the award to them, though there are few exceptions like Justice
Eso,
“I wonder how they could give GCON to
some people and give CFR to Justice Eso. Justice Eso is one of the
greatest Nigerians God ever created. Why didn’t they give Eso the GCON
which is the highest award? It shows how perverse and upside down our
value system is. The award system is a joke; it is laughable.”
Ogunye said the list was a confirmation that conferment of national honours in the country “means nothing.”
According to him, it (confirmation)
portrays Nigeria, which is still grappling with the scourge of
corruption and killings, as an irresponsible nation.”
“Nigerians last year condemned the
quality and quantity of the honourees. The government has by this list
replicated last year’s list. It shows the government is insensitive and
does not give a damn about what the people say,” he added.
The National Chairman, Progressives
Action Congress, Chief Charles Nwodo, called on the Federal Government
to review the criteria for the awards.
Nwodo told the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja, that the awards needed to conform to global best practices.
“It should be a motivation for
patriotism; it should not be seen as exclusive reserve for a class of
citizens but coveted gift for all who have distinguished themselves in
words, thoughts and deeds,” he added.
SOURCE: The Punch - Nigeria's Most Widely Read Newspaper12 September 2012.
SOURCE: The Punch - Nigeria's Most Widely Read Newspaper12 September 2012.
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